Press Release, 30.06.2019

Yabloko Chair Emilia Slabunova demanded that law enforcement agencies initiate a criminal case under article 141 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on the fact of obstructing the exercise of electoral rights of candidates for deputies of the St. Petersburg municipality Yekateringofsky, and immediately release candidate from Yabloko Fyodor Gorozhanko, who was brutally detained by police officers by the building of the municipal electoral commission the day before, when he tried to apply to the commission for nomination. Fyodor Gorozhanko is still in the police. In addition, Emilia Slabunova asked the Central Electoral Commission to pay attention to the situation with registration of candidates in St.Petersburg and ensure the electoral rights of candidates to municipal deputies.

The leader of Yabloko sent corresponding appeals to the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Ella Pamfilova, Public Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, and head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin.

Yabloko’s candidates for deputies of the Yekateringofsky municipal council – Fedor Gorozhanko and Polina Kostyleva – were detained by the office of the electoral commission of the municipality on 29 June. Together with Yabloko’s candidates, police also arrested and sent to Police Station No 77 Krasimir Vranski, founder of the public movement “Beautiful Petersburg”, who led live Internet broadcast outside the electoral commission of the municipal district. Boris Vishnevsky, head of the Yabloko faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, visited Police Station No 77 and sent appeals to the Investigative Committee, the Central Electoral Commission and Public Prosecutor General’s Office demanding them to intervene and take urgent measures.

The police explained the detention by the fact that they received a statement on “petty hooliganism” of Fyodor Gorozhanko and Polina Kostyleva.

On the night of 30 June, Polina Kostyleva was released from the police station under an obligation to appear in court, since she has two children under 14 and cannot be kept under arrest. Fedor Gorozhanko and Krasimir Vranski still remain in the police department.

False queues and closed electoral commissions have been observed in several municipalities in St. Petersburg. The staff of the Yekateringofsky electoral commission refuse to register candidates, despite the demands of the Central Election Commission. On 29 June, members of the City Electoral Commission were not allowed into the premises of the Yekateringofsky electoral commission. Earlier, Yabloko demanded that the Central Electoral Commission should take all the measures so that to prevent disrupting the nomination of opposition candidates for municipal deputies of St. Petersburg. After Yabloko’s appeal, a commission from the Central Electoral Commission went to St.Petersburg so that to conduct a check.

It should be noted that the Yabloko party nominated 547 candidates for deputies in 85 municipal councils of St. Petersburg and the nomination still goes on.